James goodyeak



(..No Modem- JJGOODYEAR. AUTOMATIC #SEEDING AND Dhme MBGHANISM FOR HUMINY Patented May 16, 1882;

ATTEST: m A

, No. 258,200.A

N. PETERS, Plwm-Lnlwgraphur, wnshingmn, D. t;

' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

JAMES GOODYEAR, OE YONKEEs, NEW YORK, AssieNoE or ONE-HALE y'ro' RUDOLF EIGKEMEYER, OF SAME PLAGE.

AUTOMATIC FEEDING AND DlSCHARGlNG MECHANliSM FOR HOMINY-MILLS, dc.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 258,200, dated May 16, 1882. i

` Application tiled December 19, 188|. i (No model.) i i To all whom it may concern Beit known that I, JAMES GOODYEAR, of

Yonkers, in the county ot' Westchester and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Feeding and Discharging Mechanism for Hominy- Mills, 85e.; and I do hereby declare that the following specification, taken in connection with the drawings furnished and forming a ro part of the same, is aclear, true, and complete description of my invention.

Although I hereinafter describe my said improvements as organized for use in connection with hominy-mills, they are equally applicable I5 to mills of any kind to which the material to `be operated upon therein is fed thereto 'and discharged therefrom at intervals, as distinguished from the continuous feed and discharge, as with ordinary grinding-mills.

After a detailed description ot' mechanism embodying my invention, the features deemed novel will be specified in the sever-il claims hereunto annexed. t

Referring to the drawings, Figure l is a `front view of so much of a hominy-mill as is deemed necessary, with my improvements attached,partiall yshown in vertical section. Fig.

l 2 is a side view ot' the same. Fig. 3 is a surface projection of a disk carrying cams or in- 3o clines for operating the feeding and discharging gates. Figs. 4, 5, 6and 7 are views of detailed parts to be specifically hereinafter referred to.

. The hominy-mill has a knife or beater chamher,` A, a hopper, B, and a worm-chamber, C,

substantially as heretofore in 4certain classes of mills. t

Dhe hopper B ig divided into upper and lower portionsb a horizontal plate, b, pro- 40 vided with op'nin gs, and these are guarded by a valve or gate plate, b', having corresponding openin gs, whichwill register withthose in the plate for discharging grain from the upper portion (into which it is poured in mass or fed through a spout) into the lower portion. The period'of time being varied during which the gate4 is opened will vary the quantity thus re,

ceived into thc lower portion of the hopper. The bottom of the hopper b2 is also provided 5o with openings,` which are guarded by a valveplate, b3, as before described, so that when grain is entering from above the openings `in the bottom b2 maybe closed, and when the entering supply is cut ofi1 said valve-plate nis moved to deliver the4 predetermined charge of 5 5 grain from the hopper linto the beater or knife chamber A, after which said plate' is moved again to close the bottom of the hopper for receiving another charge, the upper valve-plate being meantime moved for that purpose, and so 6o on successively at suitableintervals. Instead otthis upper valve-plate, a pivoted spoutleading from a grain-bin may be employed iu connection with a closelyad jacent stationary baseplate,from over which the mouth of said spout may be moved at intervals. Vith the pivoted spout thus suggested the flow of grain therefrom would be permitted and cut Olil by the swinging movement of the lower end of said spout from itsV closed position, which wouldbe 7o directly over the base-plate, to a position at one side thereof and back again, the lower end of said spout being connected with the vertical lever precisely as is the uppervalveplate shown. The grain, having been duly acted upon in the beater-chamber,is discharged therefrom into the hominy or worm7 chamber C through similar openings controlled bya similar valve-plate, c, the outer end of which is shown in Figs. `1 and 2 and further iudi- 8o cated iu dotted lines in the latter ligure.

The apertures in the plateb should obviously be closed when the apertures in the bottonrb2 Ot the hopper are opened, and these latter should always be closed when` the apertures guarded by valve c are opened.

It is also obvious that the operation within the knife or beater chamber, or that portion of any apparatus in which the work desired is. performed,'should govern or control the mat-` 9o ter of receiving and discharging, and that said operation must varyin respect of time` according to varying conditions--as, for instance, more time would be requisite for making line 4 than coarse hominy, ahd variations would also be involved in working corn of different varietie-s, or in varied conditions as to age or `dry,- ness, and therefore in the development of automatic apparatus it is importa-nt that it should have a wide range of adjustment for operation at varied intervals of time, regardless of the 'uniformity of motion on the-part of the main or working parts of the mill, and I havedevised my automatic mechanism with due ref erence to all the varied conditions incident to its use, and also with due reference to simplicity, economyin construction, and reliability in operation.

For operating my feeding and discharging mechanism I can rely upon power from any adjacent source outside of the machine, but prefer to employ the worm-shaft D, commonly usedin such mills, for constantly conveying the disintegrated grain from 'below the knifechamber and cooling it in its passage therefrom.

My apparatus embodies mechanism which continuously revolves, mechanism which intermittingly revolves in complete revolutions,

' and mechanism whichvis continuouslyrevolved i intermittingly stepA by step. I will first describe that portion thereof to which the several valve-gates are operatively connected.

A pulley or broad-faced wheel, E, is rotatively but loosely mounted on a stud, d, pro'- "jecting from the frame of the machine atvone end thereof. This wheel Elias onits periphery a series ot' raised camsurt'aees, e c', and f f. (Clearly shown in Fig. 3.) The valve-gate c is'coupled to a horizontal bell-crank lever, g,

pivoted at g', and having at its outer end, on

Iv "lies the wheel E and stands in the path ot' thel` a pendent arm, a friction-roller, g2, which overcams e and e', so that as said wheel revolves j rst one cam and then the other will engage with said lever and move its outer or opposite end to and fro, thus opening `and closing the gate cfor discharging from the knife-chamber and making -ready for the reception of arsncl ceedin g charge.

- other is closed.

y The valve-gates band b3, as will be Iseen, are so arranged that when either is opened the I therefore connect both gates to the upper end of a vertical bent lever, h', pivoted at It', and provided at its lower end with va stud parallel with the pivot, and having a `friction-roller, h2, which 'stands near the periphery of the cam-wheel E in thc'horizontal plane of its axis,'but at right angles thereto,

and in the path of `the camsfandf, so that these latter, as the wheel revolves, vibrate vthe 'lever h, and thus open and close -the gates b and b3.

` The rotation of the cam-wheel E is effected 'from the worm-shaft D, acting through a small pinion thereon' meshing with a large gear, t,

having a smallpinion, ft2, attached to its outer side, which meshes with a larger gear, '53, on

the stud d. The gear t3 has a hub,ttowhioh the toothed wheel '7c is connected within-the foam-wheel E. Although thc toothed wheel k resemblesa ratchet-wheel and cooperates with afpawl, as hereinafter described,it is to be understood that the teeth on said wheeland the 'ly-rotatingtoothed wheel. These gears and the toothed wheel arein constant motion while the l teeth of the continuously-rotating wheel 7c when permitted so to do, and while thus engaged lthe cam-wheel is rotated by and with said wheel. So long as the spring-pawl l is kept from engagement with the toothed wheel k the canrwheel is stationary, and the disengagement ot' said pawl from the toothed wheel kis effected by means of an automatic stop, m, the

Iend m of which isnormally in abutting engagement with one or the other of the two fingers l' Pat 4the `outer end of `the springpawl. This stop mis rendered automatic. as' follows: It is a curved arm loosely mounted at one end upon the stud u, and projects rearward horizontally, and is maintained inthat position by a rod, n', projecting at right angles horizontally from the end-of the mill andfpassing-loosely through a hole in the stoparm',.as

side of the stop-arm, is a rubber spring, n2, and a clamping-nut, whereby the outer end,-m,ot'

the stop-arm is normally under pressure, by

which it will be forced inward or toward the mill,and when in that position i-t is out ofthe path of one porlion'of the pawl l whienthe cam-wheel rotates therewith. Said stop-arm is, however, maintained vin itsoperative or abutting position in the path of said pawlby theouter face ot' a ratchet-wheel, o, mounted on stud n, alongside of the stop-arm, which'has a rigid-lateral pin, n3, in sliding abuttingcontact with the outer face of ratchet-wheel o,

-thereby preventing the end on ot' stop-arm m .from being moved inward by its spring, except when permitted so to do by an inclinedrecess, o', in Vtheouter side of ratchet-wheelo, which serves as a: cam cooperating with the spring for thus laterally vibrating the outer .end of the stop-arm once during each revolution ot said ratchet-wheel o. Y

The path ot' the outer end of spring-pawl Z .has been referred to 5` but particular attention must be given to the/ peculiar construction of the coincident ends of said pawl and stopm at 'm' and their peculiar arrangement andoperation.

As sccn in Figs. 1, 2, and 4, the pawl Zat its outer end has a first and a second linger, l'tand Z2. The latter is not only forward of theiinger l', but also to the one side thereof, thus affordin g afree space between them in two directions, as clearly seen in the two views of saidY pawl afforded in Fig. 1. The outer end, m, of stop m has a laterally-projecting abutting face more than twice as wide as the thickness ot' thestop, as is clearly seen in Figs. l and 5. It will now be clearly understood that the 'tirstiingely l',

clearly seen in Fig. 5. s Upon the stud ayoutlos IIO

space between said fingers, as s een in Fig. 2, [O

is ample to allow the lateral projection at m of stop m to freely pass whenever the stop, bymoving inward, is released from its abutting contact with then ger Z.- The two pawl-iin gers then straddling the stop-arm are free to permit the cam-wheel to revolve and carry its pawl therewith 3' butthe end m ot' the stoparm does not move so far inward that when stationary it will be placed out ot' the path of the second nger, Z2, which therefore, when it 'comes around, strikes against said stop-arm,

and thus surely stops the cam-wheel after one revolution, and then after the slow rotation ot the ratchet-wheel o has again moved the stop-arm outward it freely slips oft' from the second finger, Z2, andl abuis against the iirst finger, l', until next again operated by the ratchet-wheel 0 for releasing the same. i

I have now only toldescrihe the method'ot imparting the step-by-step movement to the ratchet-wheel o andthe means by which its rotation is variably graduated for operating thevalve-gates at such variable intervals as may from time to time bedesirable.

A curved and weighted pawl-lever, `pis loosely mounted on the stud n alongside the ratchet-wheel o, and Vis 4provided with one or more pawls, p. It is desirable that several pawls be used side by side,'ot` sli gh tl y-varying lengths, 'so as t'o enable a fine adjustment. The

end'thereof to normallyincline toward the cam-wheel, and said upper end has on one side a lugor ear, through which an adjustinglscrew, q, is tapped. lhe adjusting-screw, at its lower end, is sea-ted upon the upper face of alug or ear, q', projecting from the frame ot' the machine, as seen in Figs. l and 2. The upper end of the pawllever p extends alongside of the inner face of the large drivin g-gear t3, bct'ore described, which is constantlyT rotating, and is provided with one or more laterally-projecting removable studs or pins, p3, which, by engaging against the underside of the pawl-lever, lift its outer end, and by means of the pawl cause the ratchet o to rotate to a degree corresponding to the degree ot' vibration of the pawl-lever. By advancing or retiring the adjusting-screw q the pawi-lever is vibrated less or more, and byincreasing or decreasing the number ot' removable studs or pinsp3 the number of vibrations ofthe pawllever in a given time will be increased or decreased, thus ati'ordin g a wide range ot' adjustability with reference to the intervals between the rotations of the cam-wheel and the consequent movements of the valve-plates.

l gates. weight p2 of the pawl-lever causes the upper As an equivalent of the adj usting-screw, the stop pin or pins p3 maybe radially adjustable on the gear i3, so that the nearer said pins be located with reference to the periphery of the gear the greater would he the vibrative move-V ment of the pawl-lever and the greater the rotative movement of the ratchet-wheel.

The rotation ot' the wormshaft D is usually quite slow, and the reductions in speed provided for in the gearing, substantially as shown, produce a very slow rotation of gear t3, which, having one pin, p3, and co-operating with the pawl-lever set by its screw so as` tol engage withbnt one tooth at a time, would afford the longest interval ever required between the rotations ofthe cam-wheel, and the i shortest intervals would follow the useof the full number ot' piusp? (six, or even more, if desired) (3o-operating with the pawl-lever set by its screw, so as to make its greatest movement, covering the maximum number of teeth of the ratchet-wheel o, thus affording a widev wheel o is continuously rotated intermittiugly step by step, and also that, while thecam-wheel is limited to one complete rotation 'to each complete rotation of Vthe ratchetwheel o, the cam-wheel makes its complete rotation in quicker time than the ratchet-wheel o, because while the latter is rotating to an extent ot' not more than, say, one or two teeth, the camwheel is completely revolved, thus causingl a prompt and eli'ective operation of the several I do not claim to have been the tirst to devise automatic feeding and discharging mechanism for inillsof the general character indi` cated, t'or I am well awareA that in such mills springs and weights have heretofore been employed for closing valves or gates, and that for the opening of said gates continuously-rotating cam-wheels have been employed; and that also, in connection with weights or springs, a ratchet-wheel moved step by step and pro-` vided with cams has been heretofore employed for opening such gates. Said prior mechanism obviously involves considerable waste of time in charging and discharging a mill, because of the necessarily slow movementot' said prior cam-wheels, and this I overcome by the use for the iirst time ot' a cam-wheel which is not continuously revolved, nor revolved step by step, as heretofore, but which, while it is making one complete revolution,A promptly opens and closes the gates, and then rests duriug the full time requisite for the proper operation of the mill upon the charge therein contained; and I do not therefore limit myself to the precise construction and arrangement of mechanism shown and described, except as hereinafter indicated in the claims annexed.

IIO

Among the obvious variations which can be made without departure from my invention I will refer to the fact that several mills may be attended by one manif the upper valve-plate, b', be dispensed with, in which case theproper quantities ot' grain will be deposited in the hopper from time to time after each automatic chargingof the mill; or only the valve-gate c may be automatically operated, the tender relying upon the difference in the sound of the running mill to know when a discharge has been effected and a new charge required.; but I prefer the entire arrangement of valves shown, because then the upper portion of the hopper may be continuously supplied with grain from an elevated bin through a vertical rigid spout or an inclined flexible-mouthed spout, and the operation of the mill be rendered wholly automatic. Also, instead of the paw] l and toothed wheel lr, aelutch of a more common type may be employed, and the pawl l arranged to force the members of the clutch apart and permit them to come together for rotating the cam-wheel, and, while I deem the arrangement shown preferable to any other known to me, I do not limitmyself thereto, except as hereinafter indicated, in combination with the cam-wheel and gate-levers.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Paten t- 1. The combination, substantially as hereinvbefore described, of the mill-chamber, the

cam-wheel at intervals, substantially asdescribed. A

3. The combination of one or more gate-levers, the cam-wheel,its twotingered pawl,and the automatic stop, substantially as described, 5o whereby the cam-wheel, when permitted to revolve, is limited to a single rotation, as set forth. e

A. The combination, with one or more gatelevers, the cam-wheel for moving said levers and a stop for controlling the rotation ot' the cam-wheel at intervals, a spring for moving said stop in one direction, and a cam on a ratchet-wheel rotated step by step for moving said stop in the opposite direction, substan- 6o tially as described, whereby during each slow rotation of said ratchet-wheel the cam-wheel is permitted in quicker time to make a single rotation, as set forth.

5. rlhe combination, with one or more gatelevers, the cam-wheel, the stop, and the ratchet-wheel which automatically controls said stop, ot' a continuously-rotating driving-gear and a pawl-lever for said ratchet-wheel, which is adjustable as to the extent of its vibratory 7o movement, substantially as described, whereby the time ot' rotation of said ratchet-wheel is varied for varying the movements ot' the stop, and thereby varying the intervals between the rotations of the cam-wheel and the operation ot' the gate-levers, as set forth.

6. The combination, with the gate-levers and the continuously-driven toothed wheel, of the cam-wheel outside of said toothed wheel, the spring-pawl mounted radially on the cam- 8o wheel, for engaging with said toothed wheel,

and an automatic stop for controlling the ro- JAMES GOODYEAR.

Witnesses:

J. GEORGE NARR, A. C. Morir.' 

